Chapter Sixteen - The Wolf I Could Not Control

Kael’s POV

The meeting ended, but the tension it left behind followed me out of the council hall.

I didn’t look back at Aria because I couldn’t. If I did, I knew I would say something I would regret.

The elders had made their decision.

Aria was staying and she would become my mate. Eventually, she would be crowned Luna.

Those words had been repeated so many times that they should have sounded normal by now. Instead, they made something inside me uncomfortable.

I had spent months convincing myself that I no longer cared what Aria did.

I had told myself that her return was simply another responsibility I had to handle as Alpha, and I had told myself that if she came back, I would treat her like any other member of the pack.

But none of that was true and I hated that.

I left the hall and headed straight toward the training grounds.

Training was the one place where my mind usually became quiet.

There was no politics, no elders, and no memories. Just warriors, weapons, orders, and discipline.

This was exactly what I needed.

By the time I reached the training grounds, several warriors were already waiting.

“Begin.” I ordered and they immediately moved.

I walked among them, correcting stances and calling out instructions.

“Keep your guard up.” I barked. “ you are too slow.”

“Watch your opponent’s shoulders.”My voice carried across the field.

The warriors responded quickly.

I forced myself to focus but my mind kept returning to the council room.

I clenched my jaw. I didn’t know what Aria wanted, I didn’t know why she had agreed, and I certainly didn’t trust her enough to believe that her decision had anything to do with me.

She had already chosen Damon once. She had chosen him over her family, over Ironcrest, and over me.

I still didn’t understand it. What had that man given her that I couldn’t?

What had she seen in him? What had made her believe that abandoning everything was worth it?

I was still thinking about it when I heard footsteps behind me.

I didn’t turn immediately, then I heard several warriors fall silent.

I glanced over my shoulder.

Aria stood at the entrance to the training grounds. She was dressed in training clothes.

Her hair was tied back, and there was determination in her eyes.

For a second, I forgot what I was doing. She looked exactly like the girl I remembered except she wasn’t that girl anymore.

She had changed, and so had I.

Aria didn’t look at me. She walked straight toward the warriors.

My eyebrows lifted. What was she doing?

She joined the line without saying a word. One of the warriors looked at me uncertainly.

I gave him a slight nod which meant he should continue.

Aria began training and I turned away.

“Again!” I barked and the warriors repeated the exercise.

I walked between them, correcting their movements but my eyes kept drifting toward her.

I just couldn’t stop. She was slower than she used to be. Though she was not weak, just rusty.

I remembered when we were children and Aria had hated training.

She would complain every time her father ordered her onto the field and somehow, I had always ended up being the one assigned to train her.

I remembered the first time I held a wooden sword in front of her. She had been barely old enough to hold it properly.

“This is boring,” she had complained. “I don’t want to learn.”

“You need to learn.” I insisted. “Your father says you have to.”

She had glared at me. “I don’t like you.”

I had laughed. “You don’t have to like me.”

Years passed, I became stronger and she grew older. But somehow, training her became something I looked forward to.

I taught her how to defend herself, how to read an opponent, how to use her smaller size to her advantage, and how to remain calm when someone tried to intimidate her.

She was stubborn, extremely stubborn but she learned quickly and somewhere along the way, without realizing when it happened, I fell in love with her quietly and completely.

I never told her because I never thought I needed to.

Then her father came to me. He told me about the marriage arrangement.

I still remembered that conversation.

He had looked at me and asked whether I would accept Aria as my wife.

My heart had nearly stopped. I had wanted to say yes before he even finished speaking but when the news reached Aria, everything changed.

She didn’t want me, she wanted Damon and then she left just like that.

I watched Aria swing her training sword.

Her movement was clumsy at first, then she corrected herself.

I looked away quickly.

I shouldn’t care. I was her Alpha now, and that was all.

“Faster!” I shouted at the warriors and they obeyed.

I continued moving among them but every few seconds, I found myself looking toward Aria again.

She didn’t acknowledge me once, not even a glance.

I wasn’t sure whether that irritated me or relieved me.

She continued training even though sweat began forming along her forehead.

Her breathing grew heavier still, she refused to stop.

I remembered that about her. She always hated admitting she was tired.

“Enough,” I nearly called out but I stopped myself.

She wasn’t my responsibility anymore. If she wanted to exhaust herself, that was her choice.

I turned away then I heard her breathing become uneven.

I glanced back and she had stopped.

She lowered her sword and bent slightly, trying to catch her breath.

One of the warriors nearby noticed and walked toward her.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

He picked up a glass of water. “Here.”

She accepted it. “Thank you.”

Something inside me shifted as I stared at them.

The warrior smiled. “Come. Sit down for a moment.”

He reached for her arm, and my wolf growled.

I froze. This was not the place and time for this nonsense.

The growl came again, but louder this time. What the hell was wrong with me?

The warrior helped Aria toward a nearby bench and she sat.

He remained beside her which made my wolf became furious. I didn’t want him to stay around her.

I clenched my fists, trying to hold him back but my wolf wasn’t listening.

The warrior crouched slightly in front of Aria. “Take your time.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

I heard every word. I shouldn’t have cared, but something primal had awakened inside me, and it was something I couldn’t explain.

Before I realized what I was doing, my feet were moving.

I crossed the training ground.

The warrior looked up. “Alpha?”

I didn’t answer as my vision narrowed.

My wolf pushed against my skin, chanting MINE.

The word echoed inside my head that I stopped.

What? I shook my head. That couldn’t be right.

Aria wasn’t mine, and she had never been mine. She had chosen someone else, and she had left me but my wolf didn’t care.

He saw the warrior beside her as a threat.

I reached them and the warrior stood.

“Alpha, is there a problem?” He asked.

I grabbed him by the throat and his feet left the ground.

The training grounds fell silent.

I heard gasps around me. My claws emerged before I could stop them and they dug into his skin.

“Kael!” Aria’s voice reached me but I barely heard it.

My wolf was roaring.

The warrior struggled. “Alpha…”

I tightened my grip. My vision blurred and my body wanted to shift.

Fur prickled along my arms and my claws lengthened.

I could feel my wolf fighting to take control.

I clenched my teeth. “No.”

The word came from somewhere deep inside me.

The warrior’s face had gone pale.

“Kael!” Aria was standing now.

She stepped closer. “Let him go!”

I looked at her. Her eyes were wide with shock. “Kael, what are you doing?”

I couldn’t answer. My wolf wanted the warrior gone, nowhere near her, and wanted to tear apart anything that came between us.

I didn’t understand it.

I had never felt anything like it not not even when Aria left, and not even when she chose Damon.

This was different, primal, violent, and possessive.

“Kael!” Her voice cracked. “Please!”

Something in that word broke through the rage.

I looked at the warrior. My claws were still buried in his skin, so I released him and he dropped heavily to the ground.

Several warriors rushed forward.

“Get him to the healers,” I ordered.

My voice sounded rough that the warrior scrambled away.

I stared at my hands as my claws slowly retracted.

What had I just done? The entire training ground was silent.

Everyone was looking at me, and even Aria was looking at me too.

Her expression was a mixture of fear and confusion.

“Why did you do that?” She asked.

I didn’t know. I couldn’t tell her the truth because I didn’t understand it myself.

“I…” The words wouldn’t come.

She stepped closer. “You could have killed him.”

I looked away. “I know.”

“Why?” She glared at me.

I clenched my jaw. “I lost control.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”She was angry now. “You attacked him because he gave me water?”

I said nothing.

Her eyes narrowed. “Is that what this is?”

“No.” I mouthed.

“Then what?” Her brows furrowed.

I couldn’t answer because the truth was terrifying.

I didn’t know why seeing another man touch her had made me want to destroy him.

I didn’t know why my wolf had called her mine, I didn’t know why being near her suddenly felt different and I certainly didn’t know why I had spent months telling myself I didn’t love her when my own wolf had nearly exposed everything I had tried so hard to bury.

“I said I lost control,” I muttered.

Aria stared at me then she shook her head.

“You’re unbelievable.” She turned away.

I watched her walk back toward the benches. Something inside me pulled toward her, but I resisted.

I had to because I couldn’t let myself become weak again and I couldn’t allow Aria to have that power over me not after what she had done, and not after she had left.

I turned and walked away from the training grounds.

“Alpha?”

I ignored the voice and I kept walking.

My steps became faster.

I needed distance, I needed air, and I needed to understand what had just happened.

I reached the edge of the forest and finally stopped.

I leaned against a tree and closed my eyes.

My wolf was still restless, still pacing, and still angry.

Why? I demanded but there was no answer, only that same deep, possessive feeling.

I opened my eyes.

“No.” I shook my head. “She isn’t ours.”

My wolf growled. I pushed away from the tree.

Aria had returned to Ironcrest. She was now expected to become my mate and somehow, after one brief moment on the training ground, I was beginning to fear that the elders had not been the only ones making that decision because my wolf seemed to have already made his and I wasn’t ready to listen.